Time to grow up and stand tall on and off the park

By Hugh Keevins

Personally name checked by Biffy Clyro on the red carpet before the MTV Awards at the Hydro on Sunday night, and I've got the audio evidence to prove it. Beat that, sucker.

Now I know how Rony Deila felt when Virgil Van Dijk scored that last minute winner for Celtic at Pittodrie earlier in the day.

Ronny apparently felt moved in a, what shall we say, physical way by the sight of the game being turned on its head. But at least he kept his clothes on this time and confined himself to dancing in front of the Celtic supporters after the final whistle.

What a pity that support still contains an element who shame their club with public demonstrations of irreverant behaviour.

Celtic are currently appealing a seven game ban imposed on Aleksandr Tonev after he was found guilty of using language of a racist nature by an independent judicial panel tribunal.

Not the time, you might think, for the anti-social brigade to highlight their intolerance by wantonly disrupting a Remembrance Sunday minute's silence for the war dead.

Is it asking too much for the hard of understanding to just shut their mouths for sixty seconds once a year rather than insult the memory of the Celtic players and supporters who gave up their lives in war-time?

I know the travelling support isn't drawn from the ranks of the Diplomatic Corps but is extending a show of courtesy to the deceased out of the question?

Celtic will get the blame for the disruption, but how is the club supposed to legislate for the mindless who gather in their name?

On a lighter note, my street cred has gone through the roof thanks to Biffy Clyro and the sky is now the limit.

Ozzy Osbourne got MTV's Global Icon award, but there's always next year for me.

Which is more than can be said for Aberdeen and Dundee United. If the weekend proved anything, it showed the so called New Firm to be fundamentally flawed in the bottle department.

United had Motherwell on the ropes for forty-five minutes on Friday night after the Lanarkshire had lost their previous five league matches on the bounce, leading to Stuart McCall's resignation from the manager's office at Fir Park.

And yet somehow Jackie McNamara's side contrived to lose the game in the end and forfeited their place at the top of the league table as a consequence.

Aberdeen had a goal of a start on a Celtic side unjustly reduced to ten men when Scott Brown was red carded ten minutes from time.

But it was the visiting side who overcame numerical disadvantage to assume leadership of the table.

And so farewell to those who might have been thought to possess the necessary nerve to challenge Celtic for the title during Deila's transitional period, and congratulations to the defending champions for having successfully retained their crown before the first Christmas tree goes up.

Now we can all get on with the other issues which are still open to debate, like Scotland's prospects against the Republic of Ireland in our Euro 2016 qualifier on Friday night.

Former Scotland stalwart Gordon McQueen says the crowd should give Aiden McGeady and James McCarthy pelters for choosing to play for the Irish instead of the country of their birth.

But Gordon appears to be getting confused here.

FIFA rules allow anyone to play for the country of their grandparents' birth if they want. That's why James Morrison will be running around in a Scotland jersey on Friday night after having represented England at a variety of levels in his younger day.

We are were we are under Gordon Strachan's management because of one man's strength of will. Let's have enough about us to concentrate on how well Gordon has the team playing rather than taking a xenophobic turn for the worse.

What's the matter with people?

Ally McCoist's still going on about possibly asking Gordon if he can have Lewis MacLeod withdrawn from the national squad in order to play against Alloa at Ibrox on Saturday.

Are you having a laugh, Ally?

Those of us old enough to remember you as an eager young thruster know how you'd have reacted if Rangers had tried to have you removed from your first full international squad three days before Scotland play England.

MacLeod has a wonderful story to tell, having recovered from a heart problem that caused him to fret for his future in the game.

Withdraw from the Scotland squad to play against the part-time team currently sitting fourth bottom of the Championship table ?

I don't think so. And I don't think Ally gets it yet where Mike Ashley's concerned.

The Rangers board dictated that Saturday's league match go ahead for reasons which are perfectly obvious.

When Rangers play at home countless fans, aka customers, pass through the superstore adjacent to the ground to buy Rangers' merchandise. And who owns the store?

It'll be that billionaire fella, Mike Ashley.

And, while they're at it, Rangers might take some of the money they make at the weekend and fix that highly visible leak they have on the roof of their main stand.

Niagara Falls came to Ibrox before, during and after the game against Falkirk. Cash flow problems are one thing. Waterfalls behind the home team dug-out are another matter.

Maybe that's why the Easdale brothers were approached by an irate fan before the game, but I doubt it.

Police Scotland are currently inverstigating the approach which must have caused alarm to Sandy Easdale's fourteen year old son as he looked on.

If you can't walk the streets in peace, and if you're forced to squirm with embarrassment as a solemn remembrance is desecrated, then it adds up to one thing.

There are some people who'd be better off staying away from football because the game would certainly benefit from their disappearance.

I'm on the side of the good guys, like my Superscoreboard colleagues Gordon Dalziel and Frank McAvennie.

They're going to sit on a panel with me at Clydebank Town Hall on Thursday night to raise funds for Drummore School, a facility for special needs children which could do with some cash in a hurry.

Help us help them by buying a ticket on line from Lisamonaghan73@gmail.com.

• Hugh Keevins